If you are considering surrogacy, one of the most important things to keep in mind is your medical insurance. Medical insurance in the United States is a hot topic for many reasons, and it is one of the biggest concerns about people looking into the surrogacy process: whether they are going to become a Surrogate or want to build their families. The difference between having medical insurance for a Surrogate and not having insurance is paramount – to the point that most surrogacy agencies won’t work with anyone who doesn’t currently have insurance.
Does Health Insurance Cover Surrogacy?
Before becoming a Surrogate with an agency like EDSI, the person who carries your baby should have her own insurance plan with maternity coverage. Most of the costs associated with the surrogacy process will be covered by her plan. However, there are some stricter plans.
In general, the health insurance of the Intended Parents will not be used at any point, except if they use a medical procedure to remove eggs from the Intended Mother. Even then, some insurances will cover that procedure and some will not cover it.
Medical Insurance for Gestational Surrogates
Depending on the insurance policy, medical insurance will cover maternity costs for the Gestational Surrogate. However, it is important to either talk to your own insurance company or have someone with experience (like a surrogacy lawyer, an insurance expert, or even a surrogacy agency) review your policy to see if there are exclusions related to surrogacy.
If there aren’t any exclusions, then the Gestational Surrogate will be able to use her own insurance to cover the pregnancy and the birth. If there are exclusions, then there will need to be another form of insurance used to cover the pregnancy. A surrogacy agency can walk everyone through these steps.
To find out more about financing surrogacy and how medical insurance plays into that, click here.
Surrogacy-Specific Medical Insurance
Another option for medical coverage is to get an individual insurance policy. Most agencies will recommend using the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace to obtain medical insurance with maternity coverage. The premium will be dependent on a few different factors, so it is nearly impossible to predict it for anyone without knowing specific details about their lives.
Why do we suggest using the ACA for medical insurance coverage for surrogates? The ACA mandates maternity and newborn coverage. This has changed the way many insurance companies handle surrogacy. It makes it nearly impossible for insurance companies to deny surrogacy coverage. However, some will still try to do so.
It is important to sit down and understand the Gestational Surrogate’s insurance coverage before anything medical happens.
International Surrogacy Medical Insurance
If you are looking to become a parent in the United States through surrogacy and you reside outside of the US, you probably don’t have your own insurance in the United States. This is slightly more complicated, and it will require you to work hand-in-hand with a reputable surrogacy agency to ensure you have the necessary coverage.
There are a lot of hoops to jump through and working with a competent, experienced surrogacy professional will help ensure you don’t get scary medical bills in the future.
For more information about EDSI’s international surrogacy program, please click here.
Ready To Start Your Surrogacy Journey? Contact Us Today
Finding the right Surrogate to help you build your family can be quite difficult, but it can be even harder to understand the rules and regulations of medical insurance and how it relates to surrogacy. At EDSI, we are here for you whenever you have questions or concerns about any step of the surrogacy process. We are happy to give you more information when you have a consultation with our team.
Surrogacy is an extremely rewarding experience that will change your life forever. If you are ready to get started on the surrogacy process, make sure to contact us today.
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